Season 4: Chapter 108. Servants (4)

“Keep everyone out.”

“Yes, sir!”

At Almond’s order, Radish Servant swiftly kicked Potato Servant into motion and scanned the perimeter. The sun was rising, but shadows still stretched across the ruins. The place reeked of desolation with nothing but scorched rubble scattered in the wind.

No villager would dare come near. It had been a battlefield only moments ago. Now it had turned quiet, but thoughts only multiplied in the silence.

Radish Servant muttered to his viewers, “What do we do with Maid Black Tea and Lemon Servant?”

He debated their fates.

— Lmao Maid Black Tea, Lemon Servant

— Who cares? Just make them slaves

— Exactly

— Why are you even worrying about this?

Some mocked him, but Radish Servant wasn’t just some grunt.

“In the end, I have to manage them.”

Whenever Almond set things in motion, Radish Servant had to handle the aftermath.

Ding!

[Sage has donated 1,000 won.]

[Why not just work them as tenant farmers?]

Having tenant farmers was the problem.

“Even if we use them as sharecroppers, what profit would we make? There’s barely enough to cover costs and not even enough to pay for labor.”

— LOL

— He sounds exactly like a greedy merchant

— Pay for labor??? In this world??

— Pay Potato Servant’s human rights before you worry about wages

It sounded ridiculous in a world without minimum wage, but Radish Servant was serious.

“We can’t keep Black Tea’s farmland at its full size. We’d have to cut it down, but then efficiency tanks. Without Fertile Soil, it would drop to half the size with a quarter of the yield.”

Their recent strategy had forced everyone else to fail, leaving only Sweet Radish’s farm thriving. That also meant they couldn’t absorb others in a win-win structure. Sure, they could hoard more wealth, but they’d never build a force as large as the Nonghyup Union.

“I don’t know what Almond is planning.”

— Yeah

— Not even worth the labor

— What now?

“Maybe he’ll use them in the knight order like an extortion crew.”

— HAHA

— Extortion??

— That’s literally gangsters

— Probably it

— Didn’t Almond already say something like that?

His thoughts became all tangled.

‘Huh?’

His sharp eyes spotted figures in the distance.

“Hey, who’s there?”

Fwoosh!

Radish Servant hurled a torch. In its glow, he saw Maid Black Tea and Lemon Servant.

‘What the hell are they doing here?’

Black Tea and Lemon froze.

‘Shit.’

‘Why now...?’

They had planned to ambush Almond’s group, but had been caught instead.

— Busted lol

— Sweet Radish’s hawk eyes holy crap

— Insane reaction speed

“Come here, you servants.”

Black Tea’s mind raced. If they acted suspiciously, Radish Servant would start shouting.

“What do we do, unnie?” Lemon whispered privately.

“Just walk forward. Naturally.”

“Forward?”

“Yeah. Our target is Almond, not Radish Servant.”

“Got it...”

They strode forward, trying to look calm.

“Run!” Radish Servant suddenly barked.

They broke into a sprint, confused.

“In front of your senior, you run. Got it?”

That was all?

— LMAO

— Reminder: Radish Servant never served in the army

— Oh my god hahaha

— This guy is insane

“A-Ah, understood.” Reluctantly, Black Tea nodded.

Radish Servant clicked his tongue. “You think I’m bad? Wait until Potato Servant hears this. He’ll eat you alive.”

He drilled them with military discipline.

— Radish Servant is tolerable... but Potato Servant is terrifying!!

— Good cop, bad cop

— He’s relentless lmao

Black Tea longed to smack him, but bowed instead. “Yes, sir.”

“Yes, sir!” Lemon echoed, loud and sharp.

“Good voice. See? You can do it if you try. Why do I have to push you to this point?”

“N-No, sir!”

— lmfaooo

— Knight order hazing

— Lemon actually fits right in

Radish Servant eyed them both and began interrogating. “Where were you? Why didn’t you report? Don’t you know the chain of command?”

“W-We had urgent business and no time to report!” Black Tea stood stiff at attention, barking like a trained soldier.

— Did she go to the military before??

— Her voice is perfect for it lmao

— Straight-up commander vibes

“Captain Radish is disappointed in you, Black Tea.”

Suddenly, Sweet Radish had turned into a captain.

— HAHAHA

— Captain Radish lmaooo

— Technically correct tho

Black Tea nearly laughed out loud, but quickly shook it off. “Sorry, sir!!”

“Since you seem repentant, I’ll at least hear the reason. Where did you go?”

Black Tea had already prepared a cover story. “I, I went to retrieve my crops!”

“Crops?”

“They’re in the Nonghyup Union warehouse!”

“Oh.”

“I had to rush before they could block me! For the revival of the knight order, sir!”

“That’s right!” Lemon chimed in.

“So what did you bring back?”

Black Tea froze, tongue-tied. She couldn’t bring anything back, let alone even go to the warehouse.

“

Uhh

, you see... Some people must’ve already reported us. We were restricted from entering.”

A moment of silence followed.

“

Ahem.

Well, I’ll let you off this time since you did it out of loyalty.”

Thankfully, Captain Radish didn’t suspect them.

“Yes! Thank you! But... where is Mr. Almond?” Black Tea asked.

“Mr. Almond is at your place. I think he’s seeing what he can salvage from the ruins.”

“Then, is it okay if I go to my house as well?”

Sweet Radish thought for a moment.

‘Almond told us nobody was allowed to come close.’

Now that he thought about it, did that include Black Tea? It was her own house, after all. She had also joined their side. It seemed reasonable to let her go.

“Alright. You may.”

Since he had to defend this place, he sent Black Tea and Lemon on their way.

***

Meanwhile, Almond cleared away the blackened ruins of Black Tea’s house until he could see the ground beneath.

[Fertile Soil]

— Holy shit

— Is that what I think it is???

— No way

‘Impossible...’

The fire and the monster corpses had birthed Fertile Soil again. It wasn’t as much as in Paprika Village, but still a substantial amount. Another miracle had occurred.

Ba-bam!

[AcornServant has donated 100,000 won.]

[The Perfect Farm is real!!]

— HAHA it’s here

— Lucky bastard lol

— Eurekaaa

— Destined to win

— Did the devs plan this??

Inside Cheese Village, the Perfect Farm that Acorn Jelly had been searching for was gradually becoming a reality. Almond stepped closer and inspected it.

==== ====

[Fertile Soil]

Rarity: Legendary

Grade: B

Description: Black fertile soil made from blood and sweat. All yields increased by 200%.

==== ====

It was different from his own soil.

‘B-grade?’

His was S+ with far superior bonuses. He even pulled out a sample to compare.

==== ====

[Fertile Soil]

Rarity: Legendary

Grade: S+

Description: Black fertile soil forged with blood, sweat, and dragon’s breath. All yields increased by 300%.

Moisture Retention: Holds water twice as long.

Crop Quality: Harvests are guaranteed to be A-rank with a 15% chance to be S-rank.

Warmth: Residual dragon’s breath allows farming even in freezing temperatures.

==== ====

The difference was night and day.

— Whoa, they’re not the same??

— So soil has grades too

— S+ is broken af

Grades reflected craftsmanship and the item’s rarity itself. This B-grade soil was rare, but poorly made compared to his dragon-forged S+.

‘So the method of creation decides the grade...’

— Of course, dragon’s breath beats regular fire lmao

— Still, 200% is OP

— Either way, both are god-tier

Even so, it still boasted incredible stats. He had to gather it before anyone else saw.

“Let’s harvest this quickly.”

Clang, clang.

He shoveled chunks into his inventory.

Thunk!

His pick bounced off an invisible barrier.

— Oh shit

— Interference block??

— lmfao

The farmland still carried ownership protection. The destroyed patches could be taken, but the untouched sections remained blocked.

‘Dammit...’

If even a little remained, someone could discover the recipe. He couldn’t let that happen.

Just then, a voice called out. “Almond~ Maid Black Tea and Lemon Servant are here!”

Almond froze at Black Tea’s voice.

‘I said no one was allowed in...’

Clearing his throat, he turned around. “What is it?”

“I came to clear my home...” Black Tea stopped cold, eyes locked on what he held. “That... is that fertile soil?”

“

Wahhh!

” Lemon jumped in shock too.

Almond glanced down at his hand, still holding the soil sample he had pulled out earlier.

‘What should I do?’

He needed a way out. No, he needed a way to turn this into an advantage. Only one option existed.

‘Yes... that’ll work.’

He smiled and raised the soil like a champagne glass.

“Oh, this? It’s a gift.”

— ?

— Huh?

— ???

— I’m Gatsby

— Fireworks incoming?

He gestured toward the land. “I’ve already spread it across your fields.”

“What?!”

It was true. Fertile Soil covered the plot.

“Congratulations on joining, Maid Black Tea.”

— Holy shit lol

— Pretending he laid it out for her

— Smooth af

— Natural cover hahaha

Black Tea’s eyes trembled. She stood on charred earth, yet saw fireworks exploding overhead.

‘N-No... I’m part of the Nonghyup Union...’

As if to mock her hesitation, a donation popped up.

Ding!

[MissBlackTea has donated 20,000 won.]

[My savior, here to ruin my life.]